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2011-08-29 - Protection on Patrol
Not that Elizraim dislikes the hotel, but...when ey /has/ to stay in it to stay safe, it feels like a prison. So, ey had to go /somewhere/...even if ey knew the options weren't high in number. Okay...there's really only one place with adequate defenses...the Young Justice base. So, asking Terra to accompany em--ey's not a fool, after all--ey made eir way there, carefully as possible and again dressed uncharacteristically in a dress. Now, eir in the base, relaxing in one of the chairs and playing a harmonica in the blues style...very well, actually. Ey didn't really have a /reason/ to come...ey just wanted a change of scenery, to feel like ey /could/ go somewhere. Nearby, Terra is doing something quite different. She's reading an extremely thick and heavy biology textbook. Her nose buried in it, it seems, although anyone who knows her would know how alert she is. Man-at-Arms - apparently known less than affectionately by some teammates as 'Noisyclank' - arrives, noisily no less - opening up the secret passage and then stepping through, already arrayed in his armor as usual. None o them have ever seen him without the stuff. Once the passage closes again, he looks around to see who is present while fiddling with the comlink in his ear. Only someone with the master controls would be able to tell he was turning off the mute function. Elizraim is /certainly/ not one with the master controls...ey isn't getting /near/ any technology that complex. Ey looks up as Man-at-Arms enters, though ey doesn't stop playing until ey reaches the end of a phrase. Ey nods, smiling a little bit. "Man-at-Arms...good eve to you." Ey likes Man-at-Arms a bit, actually, despite the noise. Man-at-Arms' speech and style of dress make Elizraim feel more like ey's at home. And Panacea definitely likes him. Even if he does clank. A lot. She also doesn't have the master controls. "Hey there, Manny." Which is her fairly affectionate nickname for him. Man-at-Arms gives a flourishing bow to both Elizraim and Panacea. "Greetings and good eventide to you both. Pardon me if I say, your musical prowess, even with so crude an instrument, is quite breathtaking." He clainks noisily over to a spot closer to the both of them, but doesn't try to sit down just yet. "Pardon my interruption. But Panacea mentioned you were coming, and she had said you might like to go patrolling, if you could be accompanied. Since I am apparently ill-suited to guarding you at the hotel, I thought perhaps I might offer this different aid?" Elizraim shakes eir head. "No apology is needed. I am only practicing...and I thank you for your praise. I do not find this instrument crude, however...only different." Ey blinks at the offer, looking a bit surprised and looking over at Terra. "I...admit that I dislike being bound to these places, and that I would enjoy spreading my wings...but do you think that wise, Terra? They hunt me as Eym...I do not wish to...what is the mortal phrase...tempt fate?" "Yeah, but you don't want to go stir crazy either. Besides, if you hide, they win. And we could all go. I'd just have to get my bike." Given she can't fly under her own power... "You had mentioned, during the meeting, the desire to go on patrol. I merely assumed it would be a means for me to make up for my failure in my sworn duties." Man-at-Arms clearly feels really bad about the whole Hotel thing. He glances at Panacea. "I could, at the least, give you a ride on Steed to reach your hoverbike, M'Lady." He won't make her beholden to him for transport, but he can help out any way he can. It just seems to be his way of things. Elizraim chuckles. "They seek to kill me, Terra, not drive me into hiding. If I /die/, they win...if I /hide/, we are at a stalemate." Ey blinks, surprised. "What is this failure? I recall none...your shield has not been needed yet, as I have not been endangered again. Should it be...I shall call." Ey thinks a little. "However, though there is nothing to 'make up' for...I think I should like that, in a short while. I agree that I cannot allow this attack to force me into hiding...if I hide, they do not win, but neither do I." A slight pause, and ey looks more intently at Man-at-Arms. "That said...I would first like your answer. Does a problem exist between us? You seemed...upset, at the meeting, when we spoke of what I am...does the fact that I am not human bother you?" Panacea isn't going to answer that for Man-at-Arms...although she tenses very slightly. Instead of responding to it, she comments, "If Steed doesn't mind." After all, he'd be the one carrying the extra weight...not that she's heavy. "My failure to protect you as I am sworn to do. I was to take a 'shift' guarding thee at the Hotel. But was informed I could not show up in armor, which is not an option for me. I cannot protect you, without my shield." Man-at-Arms answers. This clearly bothers him. But what bothers him more? Being put on the spot about this. Empathically, there's a twist in his gut, knotted up fear, shame, uncertainty and confusion. "There is no problem betwixt us, Elizraim. I will admit, I did not understand who you are. And what I do now understand only mystifies me. But I was unaware that you were not human. And I was unaware that you are not ... male. I am not so comfortable with confusions of gender." All true. But there is /so/ much more to it than that. He offers a bow of his head towards Panacea. "I assure you, Steed will not mind. But we shall ask him, as is proper." Hey, Steed /likes/ Panacea. Even when Man-at-Arms is feeling skittish about her, he likes her. Elizraim shakes eir head. "I see no failure. If without your shield you cannot aid, it is not sound strategy to ask you to leave it behind and try to defend me without it. There will be other situations where you can be of service." Ey nods at the confusion, smiling slightly. "I did not share because I was uncertain of how people would react. Some have...held hatred for my people. If that is all, then I shall trust you to defend me. And...if you wish to question me, I shall answer what I feel I can. I do not wish to cause confusion or distress among my allies." Panacea isn't human either. She feels almost bad about not telling Manny, but it seems he can only handle so many bombshells at once...he's not used to moving in a community where things like this happen. "I'd rather check with him. He's the one who has to carry the extra weight, after all." "I hold no hatred in my heart, Elizraim, save for any who wouldst do evil unto others. That, I sense, is not thee. I need know no more than this. The rest, I fear, wouldst make little sense to me, as it is." That's the 'I am but a simple man' speech, done Man-at-Arms style. To Panacea, the young knight nods again. "Of course. And that is part of what makes you a friend." Only part, though. Seriously. "Then that is all I shall say, for now," Elizraim says, nodding with a slight chuckle. "Prepare your steed, knight, and we shall retrieve Panacea's...transport." Audible distaste as ey mentions that. Evil technology! "I shall relish the chance to spread my wings again, and I know that I shall be safe with shield and healer present." Category:Logs Category:The Threat in the Shadows